| Draft Environmental Impact Statement Shorts School Road Am Antenna Structures 36 3.1.3 Existing Visual Resources The following discussion describes and evaluates the existing visual resources seen from each of the 19 key viewpoints. Figures with the existing conditions photo and the viewpoint rating sheet can be found in Section 3.1.4, Impacts. Viewpoint 1 Looking southwest from the intersection of Treosti and Shorts School Road, Viewpoint 1 is relatively level with the proposed project site (Figure A.1). In the foreground, there are existing views of Shorts School Road running north, a group of mailboxes, and agricultural fields. Vertical elements in the foreground include telephone poles and a mature maple tree. In the middleground, agricultural fields with several stands of trees and a small farmhouse are visible. Fiddler�s Bluff and Cathcart Hill (with houses) are visible against the skyline in the background view. The open view of the valley is striking, and so Viewpoint 1 has a medium vividness rating. The agricultural fields, punctuated with stands of trees, are dominant elements in this view. The road and telephone poles in the foreground are typical rural elements and do not encroach on the view. As a result, the intactness level of this view is high. Repeated linear elements such as the road, the fields, and Fiddler�s Bluff create a coherent visual pattern and a medium unity rating. The existing visual quality seen from Viewpoint 1 is in the medium range with a rating of 4.3. Viewpoint 2 Viewpoint 2 looks southwest from Lord Hill Road and is superior to the proposed project site (Figure A.2). In the foreground, the existing view is of a field with evergreen trees and blackberry shrubs. The middleground, the agricultural fields that run out across the Snohomish River valley dominate the view. In the background, the horizontal edge of Fiddler�s Bluff (with houses) is visible against the skyline. This panoramic view of the Snohomish River Valley is memorable and creates high level of vividness. The view is free from visual encroachment and has a high intactness level. The evergreen trees in the foreground are dominant vertical elements which are repeated in the trees lining the Snohomish River and those on Fiddler�s Bluff, creating a harmonious, coherent visual pattern and high level of unity. The existing visual quality seen from Viewpoint 2 is high with a rating of 5.8. Viewpoint 3 Viewpoint 3 looks southwest from the Lord Hill neighborhood at 132nd Street SE (Figure A.3). The view position is superior to the proposed project site. Neighborhood houses are visible in the foreground and middleground views. In the background, the houses from the Kenwanda neighborhood are visible along Fiddler�s Bluff, which is visible against the skyline. There are no memorable landscape elements in this view. There is medium level of visual integrity between the homes and the landscape in this view. The homes visible in the foreground, middleground, and background are dominant elements in the view and create a |